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Sunday, 29 April 2012

Spreading Power Through Persecution

This sermon by pastor John Piper will encourage Pakistani Christians that God is working through persecution.
Acts 8:1-8

And on that day a great persecution arose against the
church in Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the
region of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men buried
Stephen, and made great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging
the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and
women and committed them to prison. Now those who were scattered
went about preaching the word. Philip went down to a city of
Samaria, and proclaimed to them the Christ. And the multitudes with
one accord gave heed to what was said by Philip, when they heard
him and saw the signs which he did. For unclean spirits came out of
many who were possessed, crying with a loud voice; and many who
were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was much joy in that
city.

On January 9, 1985, Pastor Hristo Kulichev, a Congregational
pastor in Bulgaria, was arrested and put in prison. His crime was
that he preached in his church even though the state had appointed
another man the pastor whom the congregation did not elect. His
trial was a mockery of justice. And he was sentenced to eight
months imprisonment. During his time in prison he made Christ known
every way he could.
When he got out he wrote, "Both prisoners and jailers asked many
questions, and it turned out that we had a more fruitful ministry
there than we could have expected in church. God was better served
by our presence in prison than if we had been free." (Herbert
Schlossberg, Called to Suffer, Called to Triumph, p. 230)

God Rules over Persecution and Suffering

There are thousands of stories like this to tell today. And even
more over the centuries of Christian history. The lesson comes true
again and again: God uses the persecution and suffering of his
people to spread the truth of Christ and to bless the world (cf.
Luke 21:12–13). Everyone I know in this church who has been to jail
in the cause of defending the life of the unborn would say that
great good came from it. And I don't doubt that the suit against us
as a church and against some individuals will serve to advance the
cause of Christ and his kingdom.
I want to encourage you this morning from Acts 8:1–8 that God
rules over the sufferings of the church and causes them to spread
spiritual power and the joy of faith in a lost world. It is not his
only way. But it does seem to be a frequent way. God spurs the
church into missionary service by the suffering she endures.
Therefore we must not judge too quickly the apparent setbacks and
tactical "defeats" of the church. If you see things with the eyes
of God, the Master strategist (who cannot lose because he is
omnipotent), what you see in every setback is the positioning for a
greater advance and a greater display of his wisdom and power and
love.

Four Encouraging Facts About Our God and Mission

This is the main point of Acts 8:1–8 (probably of the whole book
of Acts). Let me break it down into four parts: four tremendously
encouraging facts about God's way of guiding the church in its
mission.

1. God Makes Persecution Serve Mission

First, verse 1b shows us that God makes persecution serve the Great Commission. "On that day [the day of Stephen's murder] a
great persecution arose against that church in Jerusalem; and they
were all scattered throughout the region of Judea and Samaria,
except the apostles."
Moving into Judea, Samaria, and Beyond
Up until now in the book of Acts all the ministry has taken
place in Jerusalem. No one had moved out to Judea and Samaria. But
Jesus had said in Acts 1:8 that the coming of the Holy Spirit was
to empower missions in Jerusalem and beyond. "You shall receive
power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my
witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end
of the earth."
Now Acts 8:1 uses exactly those two unreached areas in that
order: " . . . they were all scattered throughout the region of
Judea and Samaria." So whether the church may have awakened to her
calling eventually without persecution, the fact is that God used
persecution to move his people into the mission he had given
them.
To confirm this missionary purpose of the persecution, look at
Acts 11:19. "Now those who were scattered because of the
persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia
and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to none except Jews." But
in Antioch some spoke to Greeks also. In other words, the
persecution not only sent the church to Judea and Samaria (Acts
8:1) but also beyond to the Gentiles (Acts 11:19).
The Danger of Comfort, Ease, and Prosperity
I think there is a tremendous lesson for us here. The lesson is
not just that God is sovereign and turns setbacks to triumphs. The
lesson is that comfort and ease and affluence and prosperity and
safety and freedom often cause a tremendous inertia in the church.
Inertia is the tendency of something that is standing still to stay
standing still and of something moving to keep moving. The very
things that we think would produce personnel and energy and
creative investment of time and money in the cause of Christ and
his kingdom, instead produce, again and again, the exact
opposite—weakness, apathy, lethargy, self-centeredness,
preoccupation with security.
The Star Tribune had an article on Friday (May 3, 1991, p. 2A)
showing that the richer we are, the less we give to the church and
its mission proportionate to our income. (The poorest fifth of the
church give 3.4% of their income to the church and the richest
fifth give 1.6%—half as much as the poorer church members.) It's a
strange principle, that probably goes right to the heart of our
sinfulness and Christ's sufficiency—the principle that hard times,
like persecution, often produce more personnel, more prayer, more
power, more open purses than easy times.
I know it's true, from Jesus' parable of the four soils, that
some fall away during persecution because they have no root. But it
seems to be true that even more people are like the third
soil—"the cares of the world, and the delight in riches, and the
desire for other things enter in and choke the word and it proves
unfruitful" (Marks 4:19).
Persecution can have harmful effects on the church. But
prosperity, it seems, is even more devastating to the mission to
which God calls us. My point here is not that we should seek
persecution. That would be presumption—like jumping off the
temple. The point is that we should be very wary of prosperity and
excessive ease and comfort and affluence, and we should not be
disheartened but filled with hope if we are persecuted for
righteousness' sake (Matthew 5:10). Because, as Luke shows us here:
God makes persecution serve the mission of the church.

2. Stephen Is Honored, Not Blamed

The second encouraging thing to see in this text is that
Stephen is honored and not blamed. The persecution in Jerusalem
started because of Stephen. That's clear here; and it's clear in
Acts 11:19—"the persecution that arose over Stephen."
I can imagine some cautious and prudent and well-meaning
believers in Jerusalem saying: "Stephen's speech was utterly
uncalled for. There are other less inflammatory ways to defend the
truth than to call the Sanhedrin 'stiff-necked people who always
resist the Holy Spirit' (Acts 7:51). It's always hotheads like this
that get the church into trouble. Now the whole city is against us.
Look at the waste of life and property and time. Look at the
families that are being broken up. Look at the homes being lost and
the children being taken away from all their friends. Now we have
to live like refugees and exiles in Judea and Samaria. Why didn't
Stephen think before he spoke?"
But when Luke tells God's version of the story, Stephen is a man
full of grace and power (Acts 6:8). When he spoke his final words
that enraged the council, Luke says he was filled with the Holy
Spirit (Acts 7:55). And here in Acts 8:2 Luke says that "devout men
buried Stephen, and made great lamentation over him." Stephen is
honored not blamed for the persecution—at least by devout men.
Worldly people might be more worried about goods and kindred and
status. But the devout people, who think the way Jesus thinks about
life, they "let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also; the
body they may kill, God's truth abideth still."
So the second encouraging truth here is this: when persecution
comes because of courageous, faithful, God-honoring obedience,
godly people don't blame the servant of the Lord. They give
honor.

3. Adversaries Can Become Advocates

The third encouraging thing to see here is that sometimes our
worst enemies become our best friends. Verse 3: "But Saul was
ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off
men and women and committed them to prison." This Saul is the one
who would be dramatically converted and become the best friend and
advocate Christianity ever had.
We need to live in this hope again and again: fearsome enemies
can become precious friends. Adversaries can become advocates.
Critics can become comrades. For most of us it's pretty easy to
believe that an intimate disciple can become a deadly betrayer,
like Judas. That's the way the world is. But we need to remember
that a deadly persecutor can also become a great ally and partner
in the cause of Christ. That's the way God is. That's the kind of
power he has.
Look on your adversaries with the eyes of faith—that someday,
by the power of God they could experience a turn-around as amazing
and unexpected as Saul's.

4. The Word of God Is Good News and Brings Joy

Finally, the fourth encouraging thing in this text is that
even though the Word of God brought persecution and exile, it is
still good news and brings joy.
The paragraph that begins with verse
4 ends with verse 8. Verse
4 says that the scattered, persecuted Christians preached the Word
wherever they went. They announced the very Word that brought
persecution as good news (euanggelizomai). And verse 8 confirms
that it was good news because it says, "So there was much joy in
that city." The Word that brings persecution also brings joy—and
the joy it brings is so much greater and longer than the trouble it
brings that the trade-off is worth it.
Why? Well, verse 7 says that unclean spirits were coming out
of people and leaving them free and whole and pure. It says that
many that were paralyzed or lame were being healed. But the main
reason there is joy is what we read in verse 5: "Philip went down
to a city of Samaria, and proclaimed to them the Christ."
Christ alone has the power to deliver from Satan and all his
evil. Christ alone has the power heal our bodies now and finally in
the resurrection. Christ alone has the right and power to forgive
our sins and make us right with God (Acts 10:43). So if you have
Christ, if you know him and trust him, then no matter how severe
the persecution is, no matter how great the suffering of life, you
have hope and you have joy. "There was much joy in that city"
because Philip preached Christ.

Conclusion

So I urge you this morning to put your faith in Jesus Christ.
Because if you do then all these reasons for encouragement become
very personally true for you and not just generally true.

1 comment:

"Both prisoners and jailers asked many questions, and it turned out that we had a more fruitful ministry there than we could have expected in church." --- This is a long standing truth. Worryingly it is particularly true of Islamic fundamentalism increasing both in the UK and French prison systems. Christianity must be watchful and aware of what else is going on within closed walls.

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